Anodic Bonding of a Substrate of Glass having Contact Vias to a Substrate of Silicon

ABSTRACT

Concepts as well as arrangements are suggested, according to which a bond is enabled by anodic bonding between a glass substrate (200) having contact vias (210) and a substrate (100) including a semiconductor. For this purpose, a cover of the contact vias (210) is provided during the anodic bonding method such that process conditions are created that achieve a reliable and robust bonding of the substrates. A high resistance can be provided in the region of the contact vias (210). The arrangement for contacting the semiconductor device to the silicon substrate (100) having at least one contact via (210) extending through the passivation in order to contact a region of the first substrate (100).

I. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention

This disclosure (as well as the claims) generally relates to the fieldof semiconductor production, especially to a large-area production of apassivating housing material on a wafer basis.

Preferably, through-contacts or vias are produced which are alsoreferred to as TGVs (Through Glass Vias). Further preferred aresubstrates made of silicon and a glass material.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the production of semiconductor devices, small structural elementsare produced in appropriate chip areas on a carrier material thattypically comprises a semiconductor material, often in the form ofsilicon. After producing the corresponding device components, e.g. inthe form of transistors, sensor elements or the like, it is usuallyrequired to provide these components with a protective housing so that asuitable passivation of the device components is carried out, however,without adversely affecting the function thereof. For this purpose,plastic materials are often provided that are suitably applied to orotherwise connected with the individual chip areas after separationthereof, wherein contacts are to be formed in an appropriate manner sothat the corresponding unit that is composed of the semiconductor deviceincluding the numerous device components and the housing can beelectrically or mechanically connected with further components, e.g. aprinted circuit board or the like.

Due to the increasing miniaturization of and the growing requirements tosemiconductor devices, techniques are increasingly employed in which atleast regions of the respective chip areas are provided with acorresponding housing part that can also take over other functions.Advantageously, a large-area application of corresponding housingcomponents can be accomplished with these techniques so that thecorresponding process sequence can be performed on a wafer basis priorto separating the chip areas. For example, it is often required toprovide appropriate covers of cavities including suitable sensorstructures for semiconductor devices having integrated sensorcomponents. For example, pressure sensors, acceleration sensors or thelike can often be constructed on the basis of a cavity (in which asuitable gas or gas mixture having a suitable pressure is enclosed)created in the semiconductor material, to which cavity a cover is to beapplied that enables passivation of the sensitive sensor components andcontributes to the function of the sensor.

In many techniques, for example, glass, which is substantially composedof silicon dioxide and additional contents, in various forms has provedto be a suitable housing material for passivating semiconductorelements, since glass, due to its mechanical and thermal properties, forexample, enables a tight and mechanically stable closure of cavities,well established processing methods are available for glass, andmoreover no gas release takes place from and through the glass material.Thus, the semiconductor industry makes great efforts to apply a suitableglass material to already processed substrates including semiconductorson a wafer basis in a manner as efficient as possible.

In recent past a process technique has been employed for this purposewhich is known as anodic bonding and is used for bonding a silicon waferand a glass wafer, especially in MEMS- (microelectromechanical systems)technology, since anodic bonding leads to a high bonding strength, ahermetic closure, a highly parallel arrangement of the silicon wafer andthe glass wafer, and a relatively straightforward and robust processbehavior.

In the process of anodic bonding, the silicon wafer including thealready produced device components and the glass wafer including abondable glass material are suitably laid on top of each other andcontacted by corresponding bonding electrodes so that a relatively highpotential in a range of approx. 400V to 1,000V is created. In this case,the negative potential is applied to the glass wafer and the positivepotential drops across the silicon wafer so that migration of sodiumions, which constitute one of the additional components of the glassmaterial, within the glass wafer towards the electrode having thenegative potential is caused while, on the other hand, oxygen ionsmigrate towards the silicon wafer and thus towards the interface betweenthe glass wafer and the silicon wafer.

Under the influence of a temperature which is, for example, within arange of 300′C to 500° C., the glass material becomes sufficientlyconductive so that a corresponding ion migration and thus a certaincurrent flow through the glass material is possible.

An appropriate process sequence for bonding a glass wafer to a siliconwafer known in the field of semiconductor production is described withreference to FIGS. 1A and 1B.

FIG. 1A schematically shows a cross-sectional view of a bonding device 1that is used for bonding a silicon wafer 100 and a glass wafer 200. Theillustration in FIG. 1A is highly simplified in order to explain theprinciples of anodic bonding.

During the bonding process, a potential H_(V) is created across a bottomplate as a first bonding plate 2 of the device 1 and the upper plate asa second bonding plate having the form of an electrode 3, whichpotential is typically within a range of 400V to 1000V, wherein theelectrode 3 has the negative potential.

In the illustrated arrangement, for example, the bottom plate 2 isconnected to ground, while the electrode 3 carries a negative potential.At the same time, a desired pressure and an appropriate temperature areemployed in order to provide the preconditions for ion migration andthus the current flow within the glass wafer 200. The material of theglass substrate 200, which is a correspondingly suitable bondablematerial, contains appropriate ionic constituents in the form of sodiumions and oxygen ions that migrate correspondingly due to the heating ofthe composite of the wafer 100 and the wafer 200 and can thus cause acertain current flow due to the applied potential in the material of theglass wafer that has a very high resistance at room temperature. Due tothe increasing accumulation of positive sodium ions in the region of theelectrode 3, a depletion zone 203 is increasingly formed in the vicinityof an interface 204 between the materials of the wafer 200 and thesilicon wafer 100.

On the other hand, negative ions in the form of oxygen ions increasinglymigrate into the silicon material of the wafer 100 so that a highelectric field is created in the vicinity of the interface 204 due tothe depletion zone 203 and the migrating negative ions which causes astrong attraction between the two wafers 100, 200 in the area of theinterface 204 on an atomic level. As a result, silicon-oxygen-siliconbonds are increasingly created in the interface 204, as shown in theenlarged view of the interface 204 on the right-hand side of FIG. 1A.Due to these created bonds, a very firm coupling is created between thetwo wafers 100 and 200 contributing to the above-mentioned advantages ofanodic bonding.

In this way, housing components in the form of covers for the cavitiesor the like formed in the silicon wafer 100 can be deposited on a largearea on a wafer basis by bonding the two wafers 100, 200.

Then, the further processing of the composite of the wafers 100, 200 canbe continued. For example, the wafer 200, which is now firmly bonded tothe wafer 100, can be ground to a desired thickness if the initialthickness of the wafer 200 that is required for the setting of certainprocess parameters of the bonding method is not suitable for the furtherprocessing. Then, contact vias or an appropriate connection pattern canalso be produced on the wafer 100, for example, by suitably providingthe silicon wafer 100, from the other side, with a passivating housingcomponent which, if necessary, also provides the required terminals forthe electrical connection of the semiconductor devices.

The above-illustrated good properties of the bond between a glassmaterial and a semiconductor material, e.g. silicon, which can beobtained by anodic bonding further have led to suggestions, according towhich also the further housing components are deposited in the form of abondable glass material, wherein suitable contact vias would have to beprovided in the respective housing components in order to create theelectrical connections to the components within the silicon wafer 100.

For this purpose, the contact vias are produced in the form of aconductive material, e.g. in the form of silicon or a metal, within theglass wafer in such a manner that a contacting of corresponding devicecomponents on the semiconductor wafer is enabled. On the other hand, thecorresponding contact vias for the connection of corresponding contactareas or other contacts are accessible form the opposite surface of theglass substrate. In this way, the favorable properties of anodic bondingcan be utilized in order to deposit housing components provided withcontacts on a wafer basis so that efficient contact schemes, e.g.flip-chip bonding, can be employed together with correspondinglysuitably designed and deposited housing components having the suitablecontact vias.

FIG. 1B schematically shows a cross-sectional view of the bonding device1 that has already been schematically described in connection with FIG.1A.

The device 1 comprises the upper bonding plate in the form of anelectrode 3 and the lower bonding plate 2 between which the composite ofthe semiconductor wafer 100 and the glass wafer 200 is arranged. Asexplained above, the glass wafer 200 comprises corresponding throughvias 210 which are also referred to as TGVs (Through Glass Vias).

It shows that, when using the conventional procedure that is highlyefficient for glass substrates without contact vias and applies a highnegative voltage between the bonding plate 3 and the bonding plate 2,stable process parameters cannot be determined for pressure andtemperature as a function of the bonding voltage in order to accomplisha stable bonding behavior during processing.

The bonding voltage is dependent on temperature in that the lower thetemperature is, the higher must be the bonding voltage. However, thepressure applied from the outside by the bonding plate is not dependenton the bonding voltage; the pressure is used only for bringing thewafers closer to each other. The operation can also be performed using avery low pressure. The two wafers are brought closer together on anatomic level as a result of the electrostatic force. Thereby Si—O—Sibonds are formed at the interface 204. Thus, the wafers 200 and 100cannot be brought closer together on an atomic level in the interface204 as a result of the electrostatic force between depletion zone 203and the wafer 100 (see FIG. 1A).

The cause for stable process conditions not being established is to beseen in presence of contact vias 210 that provide a relativelylow-resistance current path for the otherwise relatively high-resistancematerial of the glass wafer 200, as schematically indicated by 205 andR. As a result, the required conditions for a very high electric fieldbetween the glass wafer 200 and the silicon wafer 100 cannot bemaintained or achieved to a sufficient extent. Thus, a reliableconnection in the form of Si—O—Si bonds in the interface is notaccomplished in this conventional arrangement, since a sufficientdepletion zone and thus a sufficient internal electric field cannot beestablished, as distinguished from what is explained in connection withFIG. 1A.

US 2003/224559 A1 by Gross is concerned with anodic bonding of siliconwafers, denoted by 108, 110, 112, 114 therein, to glass wafers, denotedby 107, 109, 111 therein, as a passivation including contact vias 120.The glass can be an alkaline glass material, such as PYREX, which isconsidered to be adapted to silicon with respect to its thermalexpansion, see especially paragraphs [76] to [80] thereof.

US 2017/232474 A1 by Oralkan et al is concerned with anodic bonding ofthin silicon layers 102 of SOI substrates having thicker glass wafers112 as a passivation, see FIGS. 1 and 2E and paragraph [49], which canbe configured as TGVs, and comprising contact vias, as shown in FIGS. 3Ato 3L and explained in paragraph [52].

EP 280 905 A2 by Hitachi shows, in FIG. 3 thereof, the interface betweensilicon and glass including Na⁺ and O⁻ with oxygen-silicon bonds as aconsequence, see especially paragraphs [15] to [20].

DE 101 29 821 A1 by the applicant is concerned with anodic bonding ofsemiconductor wafers 2 with glass bodies 4 as a passivation includingrecesses 6 for bonding wires as contact vias.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

With respect to the afore-mentioned situation of the prior art, a personskilled in the art will recognize a desire or demand to enable areliable bond between glass substrates and substrates containingsemiconductors with high process robustness.

The independent claims are incorporated by reference as embodimentsherein.

A cover of the contact vias is provided on the “top side” of the glasssubstrate so that a high-resistance path for anodic bonding is presentalso in the region of the contact vias so that process parameters in theform of a high voltage, a temperature and a pressure can be selected inorder to set reliable conditions for the bonding between the bondableglass material and the semiconductor material. Covering the contact viascan thus be performed such that, when an appropriate minimum voltage isapplied between the glass substrate and the substrate (containing thesemiconductor material), the developing current flow across the throughvia is so low that the suitable depletion layer is caused at theinterface between the glass material and the semiconductor material as aresult of ion movement (Na⁺ and O₂ ⁻), and thus the high internalelectric field is generated which results in a firm connection on anatomic level, for example, in the form of Si—O—Si bonds.

The concept of covering the contact vias is so flexible that manydifferent applications can be accounted for and that a substantiallyconventional arrangement of a bonding device can be used for bondingcorresponding substrates to each other, if desired.

Appropriate voltages are preferably above 300V.

Anodically bondable glasses are normally alkaline. The alkali ions areable to move sufficiently from a certain temperature on. Thus, from acertain temperature on (bonding temperature, in most cases approx. 400°C.), the glasses are no longer a (pure) insulator. Herein, the term “atleast high-resistance” is used that goes towards an insulator.

In some embodiments, the covering can be performed by means of aresidual layer made of a bondable material of the glass substrate whichis left in the production of the glass substrate including the contactvias in order to thus create at least one first high-resistance layer.Depending on the respective circumstances, this residual layer, which isthus a constituent of the glass substrate in the current productionphase, can already be sufficient for achieving a high-resistanceconnection of the glass substrate with the semiconductor substrate.

As a result, the glass substrate can be contacted via the residual layerin order to apply the required potential. The contacting can beperformed directly with the upper bonding plate or via “arbitrarysuitable” means, e.g. a further additional layer made of a conductivematerial, by a further substrate suitable for contact with ahigh-voltage source. In some advantageous embodiments, the correspondingfurther substrate can also include an insulating material, e.g. abondable glass material, in order to distribute the voltage drop over agreater distance in the insulating material. The high resistance can beincreased. In this way, suitable process parameters can thus bedetermined efficiently, e.g. suitable temperatures and/or pressurerelationships.

In other embodiment variants, the contacting of the residual layer ofthe glass substrate can be performed by using an electrode substrate,for example, in the form of a semiconductor material, e.g. silicon orthe like, without any further essential processing steps being required.

In further embodiment variants, the glass substrate can be realizedwhile maintaining a more or less conventional structure of the contactvias, which are thus accessible from the surface not to be bonded, byproviding a suitable electrode substrate that is not intended forconnection with the potential to be applied, but comprises suitablemeans for establishing the desired high-resistance state from theelectrode of the bonding device to the contact vias of the glasssubstrate. For example, the electrode substrate itself can be providedas a bondable glass material, wherein a suitable electrode material,e.g. in the form of a metal layer, can be provided for contact with avoltage source. However, a metal layer is not mandatory; the electrodewafer can also be contacted all over by the upper bonding plate.

In further advantageous embodiment variants, a barrier layer can beprovided at least on the contact vias in order to stop a diffusionbehavior of the ion migration caused in the bonding process. Forexample, when the contact vias themselves comprise a bondable material,a permanent connection between the contact vias and the temporarilyapplied electrode substrate can be prevented by applying an appropriatediffusion-inhibiting layer (inhibiting oxygen ions).

The barrier layer can also be located all over the electrode wafer orglass substrate. The barrier layer should be located at least in theposition of the contact vias on the side of the electrode wafer facingthe glass substrate or on the glass substrate on the side facing theelectrode wafer.

Other suitable layers for influencing the diffusion of, for example,sodium ions towards the electrode plates of the bonding device can alsobe provided in order to create appropriate conditions, e.g. avoiding Nacontamination or the like.

It is also possible to provide a suitable contacting scheme for applyingthe required potential so that, for example, both the glass substrateand the semiconductor substrate are contacted by suitable electrodes ofthe bonding device from the same direction. For example, an electrodecan be inserted through a recess in the glass substrate and in anelectrode substrate, if provided, which electrode contacts the surfaceof the silicon substrate, while the glass substrate makes contact with acorresponding electrode of the bonding device arranged in a suitableposition including a conductive material, i.e. above the glasssubstrate, e.g. in the form of an electrode substrate.

Advantageously, a structured metal layer can also be applied to theglass substrate, wherein said structure is formed such that there is nometal in the region of the through via. This (structured) metal layercan be contacted by, for example, the center pin. The glass substrate isprovided with, for example, a recess via which the edge pin contacts thesilicon wafer; alternatively the silicon wafer can also be contacted viathe lower bonding plate.

The upper electrode or a specific electrode wafer can also be providedin which a recess or recesses are located. Said recesses are arrangedabove the through vias. Due to this recess or these recesses, the upperelectrode or the electrode wafer does not contact the through vias andshort circuits cannot occur. A bonding process is performed in this way.The lower semiconductor wafer is contacted by the lower bottom plate orthe edge pin. When the edge pin and an electrode wafer are used, thereis (only) one recess in the electrode wafer.

Alternatively, an electrode wafer having “insulating fences” issuggested. The “insulating fences” separate the potentials for thecontacting of the glass and the contacting of the lower semiconductorwafer via the through via(s). This can be achieved by, for example, aglass-silicon-composite electrode wafer comprising at least silicon and“insulating fences” made of high-resistance glass.

The mentioned electrode wafer can be realized using the same technologyas used with the afore-mentioned glass wafer including through vias. Theelectrical contacting of the electrode wafer is achieved by a structuredmetal layer on the backside of the wafer which is separated in anelectrically insulating manner from other portions of the wafer in orderto avoid short circuits, especially of a structured electricalinsulating layer or an at least high-resistance barrier layer, e.g. madeof SiO₂ or Si₃N₄.

The upper electrode can also be insulated in order to thus avoid a shortcircuit or current circuit between electrode and through via. Theelectrode wafer would be made of silicon carrying an insulating layer,e.g. containing silicon, made of SiO₂ or Si₃N₄ on the side facing theglass wafer. Then, the contacting of the silicon wafer can be performedeither from the backside via the lower electrode or from the front sidethrough a recess in the electrode wafer using the edge pin.

On the other hand, arrangements can be used for the bonding device inwhich the composite of the cover of the contact vias, e.g. in the formof a layer and/or a separate electrode substrate, the glass substrateand the semiconductor substrate is contacted from two differentdirections, e.g. from “above” and “below”.

Further advantageous embodiment variants of the suggested anodic bondingof a glass substrate having contact vias and a substrate including asemiconductor material can be gathered from the dependent claims whichare incorporated by reference herein.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention are illustrated and not in a way thattransfers or incorporates limitations from the Figures into the patentclaims. Same reference numerals in the Figures denote similar elements.Features or properties of the following examples are not to beconsidered or understood as “essential to the claimed invention” unlessexplicitly stated otherwise. The claims have precedence and the examplesexplain or supplement them.

FIG. 1A is prior art and schematically shows a cross-sectional view of abonding device 1 for anodically bonding a glass substrate 200 and asilicon wafer 100 using conventional techniques.

FIG. 1B is prior art and shows a schematic cross-sectional view of anarrangement in which a glass substrate 200 having contact vias 210 is tobe connected with a silicon wafer 100, however, wherein the requiredconditions for reliable bonding are not achieved due to relativelylow-resistance current paths (through the contact vias).

FIG. 2 is an example of the invention and schematically shows across-section of a composite of a glass substrate 200 having contactvias and a substrate 100 including a semiconductor material. Saidsubstrates are to be connected in a bonding device, wherein the contactvias are covered, at least in part, by a layer provided on the glasssubstrate.

FIG. 3 is a further example of the invention and shows a view of acomposite of a glass substrate having contact vias 210, an electrodesubstrate and a substrate including a semiconductor material in abonding device, wherein the contact vias are covered by the electrodesubstrate.

DETAILED EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above disclosed concept for connecting a glass substrate havingcontact vias and a substrate including a semiconductor material on thebasis of the anodic bonding method is now explained further withreference to FIGS. 2 and 3, wherein reference may also be made to priorart FIGS. 1A and 1B, if necessary.

FIG. 2 schematically shows a cross-sectional view of a composite of asubstrate 100 that is, for example, a substrate including asemiconductor material, e.g. silicon, in which not shown devicecomponents are realized in the form of mechanical, and/or optical,and/or electrical sensor components, transistors, resistors or the like,wherein, in particularly advantageous embodiments, mechanical sensorcomponents are provided, for example, in the form of cantilevers,membranes or the like, the deformation of which is used for evaluatingcorresponding physical quantities. As explained in the beginning,appropriate recesses or cavities to be suitably covered are oftencreated in the substrate 100 for this purpose. For example, thesubstrate 100 can already comprise such a substrate that is provided ona “backside” 101 and is or has been connected with a starting materialof the substrate 100, for example, subsequently or previously thereto,using the technique described above with reference to FIG. 1A.

As explained above, it is further advantageous to provide a housingcomponent on a wafer basis, wherein a glass substrate 200 can beanodically bonded in which contact vias 210 are formed that are filledwith any suitable conductive material, e.g. with silicon, a metal, aconductive barrier material/metal or the like.

By connecting the substrates 100 and 200, the housing components andelectrical connections in the form of the contact vias 210 that make aconnection with a surface 102 of the substrate 100 to be bonded on theone side and provide possible connections with further peripheralcomponents on the other side which are also to be contacted in thesubstrate 200 on a wafer basis or after separating the correspondingchip areas. However, as opposed to the illustrations in FIGS. 1A and 1B,the contact vias 210 of the substrate 200 are covered by a suitablematerial so that a high-resistance path is created between thecorresponding contact vias 210 and a contact point for the potential tobe applied. This high-resistance path is schematically illustrated by205.

In one embodiment variant, at least a part of the high-resistance path205 is formed by a residual layer 220 that is formed on the substrate200 above the respective contact vias 210. The residual layer 220 can beprovided, for example, in the form of a bondable glass material havingthe same or at least very similar properties as the bondable glassmaterial of the substrate 200 in which the contact vias 210 areembedded.

Examples of bondable glass materials include Borofloat33 by Schott,Pyrex 7740 by Corning, or SD2 by Hoya which combine low conductivitywith temperature shock resistance.

In other embodiments, a different material can be used, provided thatthis material is compatible with the further conditions during theanodic bonding method to be performed.

In the illustrated embodiment, a thickness 221 of the residual layer 220is set such that suitable parameter values for pressure and temperatureas well as the voltage to be applied can be determined throughout theanodic bonding method.

Appropriate parameters can be determined, for example, by monitoring thecurrent flow through the high-resistance path 205 for correspondinglyselected further process parameters (at a constant voltage), e.g.pressure and temperature, so that, on the one hand, a selection ofsuitable parameters in the form of temperature and pressure can beperformed, when using test substrates, on the basis of the path of thecurrent that increases at the onset of ion migration and then decreasesagain when the width of the depletion zone (see FIG. 1A) increases as aconsequence of the increasing lack of ions in the depletion zone. On theother hand, the current monitoring can also be performed during theactual process for product substrates as an endpoint control of theanodic process. For example, an appropriate analysis of the interfacebetween the substrates 100 and 200 can be performed with respect to asuitable current path indicating a successful bonding of or between thesubstrates 100 and 200. A quality of the corresponding interface isdetermined and used for the selection of suitable process parameters.

In some embodiments, an electrode layer 310, e.g. in the form ofaluminum or the like, which can be contacted by a suitable electrode 4of the bonding device 1, is provided in order to improve the uniformityof the initial electric field across the substrate 200. At the sametime, the electrode layer 310, which also serves the purpose ofpotential distribution, can further have a diffusion inhibiting-effect,for example, on sodium ions so that an adverse effect on the bondingplate 3 of the device 1 due to Na contamination can be significantlyreduced at the onset of ion migration. For example, an aluminum layerhaving a thickness of several 100 nm can be efficiently used in order toobtain an effective potential distribution and a diffusion-inhibitingeffect. The electrode layer 310 can be applied in the production of theresidual layer 220 so that one or more additional deposition steps areperformed in the production of the substrate 200 in order to temporarilyapply the electrode layer or the potential-distribution layer 310 to thesubstrate 200.

In further advantageous embodiment variants, the contacting to thebonding device 1 can be performed by using an electrode substrate whichis schematically denoted by 300 herein and is made of a conductivematerial and thus serves as an interface between the bonding plate 3 andthe substrate 200 containing the residual layer 220. For example, anon-processed silicon wafer can be used as the electrode substrate 300in order to thus enable a thermal, electrical and mechanical coupling ofthe substrate 200 to the bonding plate 3. In this embodiment variant,the thickness 221 of the layer 220 is selected such that it issufficient for providing the high-resistance path 205, and the electrodesubstrate 300 is incorporated into the composite instead of or inaddition to the electrode layer 310 and serves as a contact to thebonding plate 3.

In other embodiment variants, the electrode substrate 300 is provided insuch a way that it forms a portion of the high-resistance path 205, asschematically indicated by the dashed line, so that the residual layer220 serves the purpose of mechanically covering the contact vias 210 andprovides the desired high resistance 205 only in cooperation with afurther material of the electrode substrate 300.

For example, a bondable glass material is provided in the electrodesubstrate 300, which material can have, for example, similar or the sameproperties as the glass material of the substrate 200 and/or of theresidual layer 220 on which the electrode layer 310 is provided, e.g. inthe form of aluminum, in order to make contact with the electrode 4.

Dividing the high-resistance path 205 into the residual layer 220 andthe electrode substrate 300 offers the advantage that the residual layer220 contributes to a high mechanical robustness of the contact vias 210,but can be efficiently removed in the further course of the processing,i.e. after connecting the substrates 100 and 200, for example, by meansof a simple grinding operation. On the other hand, the electrodesubstrate 300 can be reused in further bonding processes so thatefficiency can be enhanced on the whole. The residual layer preventsbonding.

In further embodiment variants, the material of the electrode substrate300 beneath the electrode layer 310 can be a different materialexhibiting the required properties with respect to thermal robustness,electric strength or the like so that the high-resistance path 205 isprovided without tending to make a bond with the contact vias 210, ifthe vias comprise a material which would otherwise tend to make a bondwith glass, as is the case with silicon, aluminum or the like.

Also for this variant, i.e. the use of the electrode substrate 300together with an insulating material providing the high-resistance path205, suitable process parameters can be selected in connection with theelectrode layer 310, as described above. In particular, an appropriateadjustment can be made on the side of the electrode substrate 300, e.g.when the residual layer 220 has the same thickness 221, wherein aspectsof reusability of the electrode substrate 300 can also be taken intoconsideration when selecting suitable process parameters and a suitablestructure of the electrode substrate 300.

When performing the anodic bonding process by means of the device 1, apotential is thus applied across the composite of the substrates 100 and200 and, if provided, the substrate 300, wherein, for example, theelectrode layer 310 and the substrate 100 serve as suitable conductivematerials for connection to the corresponding electrodes. In this case,a conventional electrode arrangement can be chosen, as schematicallyshown, for example, in FIGS. 1A and 1B.

In the shown variant, the contacting of the composite is performed suchthat, for example, the electrode 4 is provided that makes contact withthe electrode layer 310 in an appropriate position, whereas an electrode5 of the bonding device 1 is arranged such that contacting of thesurface 102 to be treated is possible.

However, the “center pin” 4 does not have to be used, rather the entireupper bonding plate 3 can be used as an electrode.

For example, the two live electrodes 4 and 5 (also referred to as centerpin and edge pin) enable contacting of the substrate composite from thesame direction, from above in FIG. 2. For this purpose, the bondingplate 3 as well as the substrate 200 and the electrode substrate 300, ifprovided, comprise a suitable recess 4 a or 5 a, for example, at theedge of the disk-shaped substrates so that the electrode 5 can bereliably moved past the substrates 300 and 200 while maintaining asufficient safety distance. The bonding plates 3 and 2 exert a pressurein the above-mentioned way and heat the composite to a temperature sothat, after applying the suitable voltage, the corresponding ionmigration starts, the course of which can be monitored as describedabove in order to determine the end of the bonding process at theinterface between the substrate 100 and the substrate 200 (see also FIG.1A).

It should be noted that, in the shown arrangement of the bonding device1, the electrode 4 is to be connected with the more negative potentialin order to initiate the migration of the positive ions towards theelectrode layer 310, whereas the more positive potential is to beconnected with the electrode 5 in order to thus initiate migration ofnegative oxygen ions.

After completing the bonding of the substrates 200 and 100,semiconductor devices are thus created on a wafer basis that comprisethe corresponding components in and/or on the substrate 100 togetherwith corresponding housing components formed by the glass materialsubstrate 200 together with the contact vias 210. The correspondingsemiconductor devices thus also have an interface, for example, inaccordance with the interface 204 of FIG. 1A, which includescorresponding Si—O—Si bonds when silicon is used as a semiconductormaterial for the substrate 100, whereby a firm connection with thehousing substrate is obtained. The glass material of the substrate 200is connected with the contact vias 210 in the region of the surface 102belonging to a corresponding device component.

After successfully connecting the substrates 100 and 200, the processcan be continued, for example, by removing the residual layer 220 whichcan be performed by grinding or the like. In this way, the contact vias210 are exposed and can be used for further processes.

As explained above, a low thickness 221 of the residual layer 220 inthis production phase has the advantage that the contact vias 210 can beexposed with relatively little effort, while the release of theelectrode substrate 300 from the composite of substrates 100 and 200 canbe performed mechanically in a simple manner, since a bond between thecontact vias 210 and the material of the electrode substrate 300 isprevented, as described above.

FIG. 3 shows a schematic cross-sectional illustration, wherein acomposite of the substrate 100 and the substrate 200 is to be bonded bymeans of the bonding device 1. In contrast to the embodiment illustratedin FIG. 2, the substrate 200 comprises the contact vias 210 in a form inwhich they would typically tend to make a bond with the glass materialduring an anodic bonding process. For example, the contact vias can beexposed in the glass substrate 200, as described above in theconventional method of FIG. 1B. In particular, contact surfaces in theform of aluminum surfaces on the contact vias 210 can already beprovided so that a further processing at a later stage can be made moreefficient.

In this embodiment variant, the glass substrate 200 is covered by theelectrode substrate 300 comprising an insulating material, for example,in the form of a bondable glass material in order to create the requiredhigh resistance 205 between the electrode layer 310 that is connectedwith the electrode 4 and the respective contact vias 210. The insulatingmaterial of the electrode substrate 300 is chosen such that thehigh-resistance path 205 is obtained for a given set of parametersregarding voltage, pressure and temperature, as explained above.

In case there is no conductive path at all in the electrode wafer, acapacitive coupling can be incorporated. The electrode substrate (theelectrode wafer 300) is not conductive and the electric field for anodicbonding is created by the capacitive coupling.

However, when using a bondable glass material for the electrodesubstrate 300, there is the risk of a bond of the glass material withthe material of the contact vias 210, as explained above, especiallywhen the vias are provided with an aluminum contact surface. A bondingto the through via or to pads on the through via may take place.

In order to prevent the undesired bonding, a barrier layer 320 isprovided in the electrode substrate 300, which barrier layer isconfigured such that at least the diffusion of oxygen ions is stopped sothat no or at least no noteworthy bonding of oxygen to the material ofthe contact vias 210 occurs. The barrier layer 320 can be applied in theform of any material that does not affect the high resistance of thepath 205, but nevertheless allows a desired current flow and has thedesired inhibitory effect on oxygen diffusion.

For example, silicon nitride is a material that, when having a thicknessof some 100 nm to some μm, is suited to at least inhibit the diffusionof oxygen, while allowing a diffusion of positive sodium ions to asufficient extent in order to thus create the conditions at theinterface between the substrates 100 and 200, as explained above.

The silicon nitride is supposed to “actually” prevent the diffusion ofoxygen only. In practice it also absorbs the sodium ions (sodiumdepletion), however, this does not affect the actual bonding process inan appreciable manner. Whether the Na⁺ ions are stopped by the barrierlayer on the electrode wafer or are able to diffuse therethrough, has noeffect on the actual bonding process. The bonding process can then beperformed in the same way as described above.

In the two embodiment variants of FIGS. 2 and 3, it can be achieved thatan excessive sodium contamination of the glass substrate 200 on the topside thereof is prevented, for example, due to the fact that thediffusion takes place into the residual layer 220 and, if provided,possibly into the material of the electrode substrate 300 so that acorresponding desired high sodium concentration in the glass material ofthe substrate 200 is prevented after removal of the residual layer 220.On the other hand, the diffusion of sodium ions into the bonding plate 3can be effectively suppressed by the layer 310 so that a longerreliability and consistency of the properties of the bonding plate 3 canbe achieved.

The same applies to the embodiment variant of FIG. 3 in which, forexample, the sodium ions diffuse into the electrode substrate 300 wheretheir further diffusion into the bonding plate 3 is impeded by the layer310. The possible enrichment of sodium in the material of the electrodesubstrate 300 can, for example, generally be taken into considerationfrom the start when constructing the substrate, e.g. in the form of thelayer thickness of the glass material or the like so that the reuse ratecan be correspondingly high even for the electrode substrate 300.

Respective glass substrates 200 can be produced, for example, by etchingsilicon substrates in such a manner that columns corresponding to thecontact vias are left behind. A glass substrate is adhered to thisetched surface by anodic bonding as is described, for example, inconnection with FIG. 1A so that the glass substrate adheres to thecolumns of the silicon substrate. Subsequently thereto, the glass can bethermally treated in an appropriate manner so that it fills theinterspaces of the silicon columns in a flowable manner, therebyreliably enclosing the columns and thus the vias by the glass material.When levelling the glass material that was flowably deformed before andremoving excess material, a processing can be performed such that adesired residual layer, e.g. the layer 220, is maintained which meetsthe requirements made to the high-resistance path 205, as describedabove. When required, the layer 310 can be applied by known methods. Inother variants, the properties of the residual layer 220 aresupplemented by the additional electrode substrate 300, as describedabove in connection with FIG. 2.

Common methods can be used for producing the residual layer 220 so thatthe desired residual layer is left behind when the glass material islevelled after filling and enclosing the shaping silicon columns so thatno substantial additional effort is created.

In the method described with reference to FIG. 2, the glass substratecan be produced in a conventional manner, without any further processsteps being required.

On the other hand, the electrode substrate 300 of FIG. 3 can be producedin a simple manner by known depositing processes so that the effects onthe entire process sequence are low owing to the reusability of theelectrode substrate 300. All in all, the anodic bonding process forbonding the glass substrate to the contact vias exhibits high robustnessand can thus be effectively used for the mass process.

A robust approach for anodic bonding of substrates having contact vias(or pads on the contact vias) is suggested, which substrates can be madeof bondable materials, e.g. silicon, aluminum or the like. Owing to thereliable anodic bonding of the glass material having the contact vias,semiconductor devices can be provided with housing components on a waferbasis using a robust anodic bonding process so that a very firm bond, ahigh tightness and a high degree of parallelism of the bonded substrateswith respect to each other is ensured, wherein the temperature stressduring the bonding process is CMOS-compatible so that no limitations arerequired in the production of CMOS components on the semiconductorsubstrate. Thus, the properties of a glass material as a passivatinghousing material can also be fully utilized in conjunction with thecontact vias on the basis of a robust bonding method, such as thetransparency of the glass housing components in an optical inspection ofthe components after adding the housing components, and the goodaptitude for high-frequency applications due to the dielectricproperties of the glass material.

1. A method for the production of a semiconductor device, the methodcomprising: mechanically contacting a first substrate (100) having asemiconductor material to a second substrate (200) having a bondablepassivation material and contact vias (210) extending through thebondable passivation material; covering the contact vias (210) with anat least high-resistance material (220, 300) on a side facing away fromthe first substrate (100); applying an electric potential between the atleast high-resistance material and the first substrate; wherein thepotential has a sufficient level that is functionally sufficient toinitiate a bonding process between the bondable passivation material ofthe second substrate and the semiconductor material of the firstsubstrate.
 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the covering ofthe contact vias (210) is performed using an insulating material (220,300) on the side facing away from the first substrate (100).
 3. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein the covering of the contact vias(210) comprises creating a layer made of the bondable material above thecontact vias (210) during the production of the second substrate (200).4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the covering of the contactvias comprises contacting an electrode substrate (300) to the secondsubstrate (200) on the side facing away from the first substrate (100).5. The method according to claim 3, wherein the covering of the contactvias comprises contacting an electrode substrate to the second substrateon the side facing away from the first substrate.
 6. The methodaccording to claim 4, wherein the electrode substrate (300) comprises aconductive material.
 7. The method according to claim 4, wherein theelectrode substrate is not a conductive material, and an electrode waferis provided that has a sufficiently high resistance.
 8. The methodaccording to claim 4, wherein the electrode substrate comprises analkaline glass.
 9. The method according to claim 8, wherein theelectrode substrate comprises a borosilicate glass.
 10. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein an electrode substrate, as an electrodewafer (300), is not conductive and an electric field for anodic bondingis established by a capacitive coupling.
 11. The method according toclaim 1, wherein an electrode substrate is highly conductive, and aninsulating layer is applied thereto.
 12. The method according to claim11, wherein the electrode substrate is a doped silicon wafer, and theinsulating layer is applied thereto.
 13. The method according to claim4, wherein the properties of the layer made of the bondable material areselected such that a resistance is created between the contact vias(210) and the electrode substrate (300).
 14. The method according toclaim 13, wherein the electrode substrate (300) comprises a potentialcompensation layer (310) made of a material containing metal on onesurface thereof, said surface facing away from the second substrate(200).
 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the potentialcompensation layer has a diffusion-inhibiting effect, at least on sodiumions.
 16. The method according to claim 14, wherein the potentialcompensation layer (310) comprises aluminum.
 17. The method according toclaim 4, wherein the electrode substrate (300) is contacted with thesecond substrate (200) in such a manner that the electrode substrate ismechanically contacted with the contact vias (210) of the secondsubstrate (200).
 18. The method according to claim 1, comprisingproviding a barrier layer (320) at least on the contact vias (210) onthe side facing away from the first substrate (100), said barrier layerinhibiting at least a diffusion of oxygen.
 19. The method according toclaim 18, wherein the barrier layer is created on the electrode layerprior to contacting the electrode substrate (300) to the secondsubstrate (200).
 20. The method according to claim 18, wherein thebarrier layer is created on the second substrate (200) and bondedsubsequently thereto.
 21. The method according to claim 20, wherein thebarrier layer is produced as a layer containing silicon and nitrogen.22. The method according to claim 19, wherein the barrier layer isproduced as a layer containing silicon and nitrogen.
 23. The methodaccording to claim 1, comprising heating the first and second substrates(100, 200), and exerting a pressure on a composite of the first andsecond substrates, while the electric potential is applied.
 24. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein bonding electrodes are provided,and the electric potential is supplied by the bonding electrodes,wherein the bonding electrodes are guided to the composite of the firstand second substrates from a common direction, especially for a waferstack to be bonded consisting of at least three wafers.
 25. The methodaccording to claim 24, wherein the bonding electrodes are guided to thecomposite of the first and second substrates from a common direction fora wafer stack to be bonded consisting of at least three wafers.
 26. Themethod according to claim 1, wherein only two wafers are to be bonded,and the silicon wafer is contacted from below.
 27. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein the bondable passivation material becomes conductiveunder the influence of a high first temperature enabling ion migrationand, as a consequence thereof, an electrical current flow.
 28. Themethod according to claim 27, wherein the bondable passivation materialbecomes conductive under the influence of the first temperature above alower limit of at least 200° C. to enable t ion migration, whereby anelectrical current flow is enabled or takes place as a consequencethereof.
 29. The method according to claim 27, wherein the passivationmaterial is a glass material.
 30. The method according to claim 28,wherein the lower limit is within a range of 200° C. to 500° C.
 31. Themethod according to claim 30, wherein the lower limit is within a rangeof 450° C. to 500° C.
 32. The method according to claim 1, wherein thereis a potential difference that is above 300V during the bonding process,wherein an electrode (3) carries a more negative potential so that Na⁺ions move in this direction during the bonding process, which electrodeis remote from the first substrate (100).
 33. The method according toclaim 32, wherein the potential difference existing during the bondingprocess is above 1,000 V.
 34. The method according to claim 33, whereinthe potential difference existing during the bonding process is above2,000 V.
 35. The method according to claim 32, wherein the potentialdifference existing during the bonding process is within a range of 300Vto 2,000 V.
 36. The method according to claim 35, wherein the potentialdifference existing during the bonding process is within a range of 300Vto 1,000 V.
 37. The method according to claim 1, wherein an electrodewafer (300) is contacted with an upper electrode (3; 4), and a lowerwafer, as a first substrate (100), is contacted with an edge pin (5)during the bonding process, wherein a ground connection, GND, isconnected with the upper electrode and a positive voltage (+H_(V)) isconnected with the edge pin (5).
 38. The method according to claim 1,wherein a lower electrode (2) is used for contacting an Si wafer, as afirst substrate (100), during the bonding process, and a negativepotential (−H_(V)) is applied to an upper electrode (3; 4) and a groundpotential, GND, is applied to a lower electrode (2). 39-82. (canceled)